AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Partly. PwC's Ghana summary (reviewed March 2026) lists unrealised foreign exchange losses, and exchange losses on transactions with resident persons, as non-deductible. A realised exchange loss on a dealing with a non-resident, such as paying a Nigerian supplier in dollars after the cedi has weakened, can be deductible, subject to Ghana's limits on financial costs.
A Ghana company that trades with Nigeria will hold or owe money in dollars or naira. Each time the cedi moves, its accounts show an exchange gain or loss. The accounting and the tax treatment of those movements are not the same, and the gap is where companies overpay or get assessed.
Realised and unrealised: the difference
- Realised loss
- The loss is fixed by a transaction: you pay a dollar invoice, or convert currency, at a worse rate than the one at which you booked the invoice.
- Unrealised loss
- The loss is a paper movement: at year-end you restate a dollar balance you still owe, or still hold, at the closing rate.
Accounting standards put both through profit and loss. ICAG, Ghana's accountancy body, requires non-public-interest entities to use IFRS for SMEs (public-interest entities use full IFRS), and both standards recognise unrealised exchange differences in profit. So the profit in your accounts includes losses that the tax computation must then remove.
What Ghana's rules allow
PwC's Ghana corporate deductions summary, last reviewed 11 March 2026, lists two categories as not deductible:
- unrealised foreign exchange losses; and
- foreign exchange losses on transactions with resident persons.
That leaves realised losses on transactions with non-residents as the losses that may be deductible. PwC also describes a cap on financial costs other than interest: they are deductible only up to the financial gains included in income plus 50% of chargeable income calculated without those gains or costs. Whether a particular exchange loss counts as a financial cost under that cap is a point to confirm with your adviser, because it decides whether a large loss in a bad year is usable at once or carried forward.
A worked example
Example, for illustration only. On 1 March your Ghana company books an invoice from a Nigerian supplier for US$10,000 when US$1 = GH¢11.00, so GH¢110,000.
| Event | Rate | Cedi value | Exchange loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoice booked, 1 March | 11.00 | GH¢110,000 | |
| Half paid (US$5,000), 1 June | 11.80 | GH¢59,000 for half | GH¢4,000 realised |
| Year-end, remaining US$5,000 restated, 31 December | 12.20 | GH¢61,000 for half | GH¢6,000 unrealised |
Accounts show GH¢10,000 of exchange losses. For tax, the GH¢6,000 unrealised loss on the year-end balance is added back. The GH¢4,000 realised loss on paying the non-resident supplier may be deductible, subject to the financial cost cap. When the rest is paid next year, the loss realised then is measured on the actual payment.
Change one fact and the answer changes: had the supplier been a Ghanaian company invoicing in dollars, the realised loss would be on a transaction with a resident person and, per PwC, not deductible.
Gains
The summary we opened sets out the non-deductible losses but not, in the same detail, how exchange gains are taxed. Ask your adviser whether unrealised gains are excluded in the same way, so your add-backs are symmetrical.
Intercompany balances with a Nigerian parent
Nigerian-owned groups often carry large dollar or naira balances between the parent and the Ghana company: unpaid management fees, shareholder loans, stock bought on group terms. Because the parent is a non-resident, realised losses on settling those balances fall outside the resident-transaction exclusion. They still face two hurdles. First, the financial cost cap described above. Second, transfer pricing: a balance left unsettled for years, or settled at a rate that does not reflect the market, can draw questions under the Transfer Pricing Regulations, 2020, which PwC notes require arm's-length dealing between controlled persons. Settle intercompany balances on a regular cycle at a documented market rate, and the exchange result becomes much easier to defend. For the fee side of these balances, see Ghana subsidiary paying management fees to a Nigerian parent.
Naira balances
The naira has moved sharply against the cedi and the dollar at times, so a Ghana company holding naira receivables can book large exchange differences in a single year. The same rules apply: a loss on a naira balance owed by a Nigerian (non-resident) customer is only potentially deductible when realised, for example when the naira is received and converted.
Practical steps
- Tag each foreign-currency balance by counterparty: resident or non-resident.
- Separate realised and unrealised exchange differences in the ledger, not only at year-end.
- Keep the rate source for every booking and settlement.
- In the tax computation, add back unrealised losses and losses on resident transactions.
- Test the remaining realised losses against the financial cost cap; PwC notes tax losses can be carried forward for five years.
Where Pryme fits
Holding foreign currency until you need it reduces the number of conversions that create realised differences. A Pryme Business Account keeps USD and NGN in the currency they arrived in, and Swap shows the rate and the fee before you approve a conversion, which gives you the rate record for each realised gain or loss. For collecting from Nigerian buyers, see How can my Ghana business collect payments in naira?.
Questions people ask
Are unrealised exchange losses deductible in Ghana?
No. PwC's Ghana summary (March 2026) lists unrealised foreign exchange losses as non-deductible.
Is an exchange loss on a payment to a Ghanaian supplier deductible?
No. Exchange losses on transactions with resident persons are listed as non-deductible.
Can a Ghana company deduct a realised FX loss on paying a foreign supplier?
It can be deductible, subject to Ghana's cap on financial costs other than interest. Confirm the treatment with your adviser.
How long can tax losses be carried forward in Ghana?
Five years after the loss year, per PwC.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, corporate deductions (last reviewed 11 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- ICAG: Adoption of IFRS for SMEs (publication) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.